Sad News Cujo Sinks Near Beaulieu-sur-Mer

Motor yacht Cujo, a one off very special Baglietto 20M with seven persons onboard sank just about seventeen nautical miles from Beaulieu-sur-Mer on the early afternoon of Saturday 29 July.  As reported by the Gendermerie des Alpes-Maritimes, Cujo called a May-Day on 12:30 hours of 29 July reporting that the yacht is taking water fast and in danger of sinking, with French coast guard arriving on the scene and the crew assisted by a sailboat which was nearby in the area.  The seven guests and crew onboard Cujo were safe, unharmed with no injuries, and in good health and where later transported to Bealieu-sur-Mer.  Cujo sank in a depth of over seven hundred meters with French Gendermerie reporting no pollution, although they are monitoring the situation as the yacht was reported carrying around seven thousand litres of diesel fuel.

Cujo was a special one-off Baglietto 20M ordered by California Porsche dealer Johnny Von Neumann a repeat client of the Varazze shipyard who wanted something fast and unique.  For this Baglietto build this one off 20M with a unique super structure and twin 1350hp CRM engines reaching speeds over forty knots in 1972.  After Neumann, Cujo was sold to Adnan Khashoggi who then passed the yacht to nephew Dodi Al-Fayed who refitted her at CARM Shipyard in Lavagna.  It is in this ownership that Cujo becomes famous, thanks to it being paparazzied with Dodi and Diana in Summer 1997 in the Italian and French Riviera's.  Following Dodi and Diana deaths Cujo will be decommissioned in 1999, until Al-Fayed cousin Moody rediscovers it in 2015 and spends over a million in a refit including upgrading the CRMs to 1650hp.  After this the boat is sold in a bid to Simon Kidston in 2020, with him selling in auction less to a year to an Italian noble family.

This is a sad day for motorboat enthusiasts as Cujo was one of the most special yachts around, a jewel made by Baglietto on the successful 20M platform which warps time like a black hole.  Rest in Peace Cujo, until memory serves me you will not be forgotten!